Chapter 151 chapter 151

Chapter 151 chapter 151
Gabriel’s POV

After the trial ended, I didn’t let the silence settle. I caught one of the elders before they could disappear into their shadows. My hands were clenched at my sides, my jaw tight, every instinct in me on edge.

"What do you think you're doing right now? This is insubordination," the elder snapped at me.

"Insubordination my foot. I have questions for you, and I want you to answer them truthfully."

"What exactly do you want from me?"

“If she passes all three trials,” I asked, keeping my voice low, controlled, “what happens?”

The elder studied me for a long moment, like he already knew the answer would destroy someone.

“The bond will choose,” he finally said. “The one her soul burns for.”

The words stayed with me long after I walked away. Later at night, I found her by the lake.

The moonlight spilled over the water, pale and bright. Carlota was kneeling at the edge, sleeves pushed up, washing dried blood from her wrists. The sight hit me harder than the trial had. She looked small there, stripped of defiance, just a girl trying to clean away pain that never really left.

She looks so innocent that I just wanted to grab her and take her away from here. She shouldn't be here going through everything that was happening right now. She didn't deserve any of this, and I'm very sure she didn't ask for any of this. Now that she's going through all of this, how is she supposed to survive?

She was washing too hard; she was hurting herself, but she didn't mind what she was doing to herself. I tried to grab her hand and stop her before she hurt herself any further. It's not like these ungrateful elders are going to care if she hurts herself more than this.

"Stop washing like that. You shouldn't hurt yourself just because of this power that you don't understand yet," I said to her.

“You think this is just power?” she said softly, without looking at me. Her fingers trembled in the water. “They’re trying to make me a symbol, not a person.”

I lowered myself beside her, the cold seeping into my knees. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but I didn’t. Not yet.

“Then don’t be a symbol,” I said quietly. “Be their fear instead.”

"How am I going to be a person when they are still controlling my every move? I can't get away from them. What kind of power is that? What moon heir? I'm just a device for the werewolf community," she lamented painfully, and this made me more annoyed.

"I just told you you're not a symbol," I assured her again. "I promise you that I am at your disposal, and no matter what happens, I will always be here for you."

She finally turned to look at me.

“You talk like you already belong to me,” she whispered.

The truth rose in my chest before I could stop it.

“Maybe I do,” I said.

My hand lifted on its own, cupping her face. Her skin was warm beneath my palm. She looked more beautiful than I could imagine.

“You have me and that jerk... Even though I don't want to admit it. He's doing pretty well in protecting you too. But I'll just leave it at that,” I told her.

Then she just leaned her head towards me, and I couldn't be happier than before.

.....

Paxton’s POV

I found them by the lake. She didn’t see me, and I didn’t want her to. I stayed in the shadows, watching him touch her, the moon painting everything. My chest ached with a lot of jealousy and frustration. Gabriel is a jerk as he always looks for every opportunity he can to take advantage of the situation.

I clenched my fists as I saw them together. He's always one step ahead of me. Why can't I just get rid of him and be the one beside her? Every time I try to look for a quiet time with her, he's always there. He won't even give me a chance with her, and every time he sees us together, he will try to do something to tear us apart.

“You're a new man, Gabriel. You are nothing but an insecure jerk.”

I was also annoyed that I didn't think about bringing her mother here when she already said that she wanted to be safe. I can't believe he used that opportunity to get closer to her and show that he was the one who cared about her the most, when in reality he's just a hypocrite like his father.

I wanted to go deal with it, but I decided to stop myself so that she wouldn't hate me for overstepping again. I walked away before they noticed me, but the image of them stayed in my mind all night, haunting every quiet moment.

By sunset, the second trial began: The Trial of Blood. I’d heard of it, but standing at the edge of the sacred grounds, seeing it unfold, it was worse than I imagined. They wanted us to offer our life force, to let our energy flow into hers, to strengthen her.

Gabriel went first. I watched his fingers cut into his palm, the blood dark and hot. He pressed it to the faint glow on her collarbone, and her power responded instantly. Energy shot from her like a flare, the air vibrating with it. She trembled, but her eyes didn’t leave his. The glow of her mark intensified, brighter than I’d ever seen.

Then it was my turn. My jaw tightened as I sliced my palm, tasting the copper of my own blood. I forced myself to step forward, ignoring the pulse of heat and anger running through me. I pressed my hand to her mark.

The moment our skin met, her pulse jumped, and the mark flared crimson—hotter, stronger, almost too bright. It was as if the moon itself had descended, reacting to the force we’d given her. I felt my own blood burn with the connection, every nerve screaming with awareness of her.

The elders gasped. One stepped forward, shaking his head, whispering, “Two bonds… that’s not possible.”

I smirked, letting the defiance roll off me like fire. “Guess the moon didn’t get the memo.”

Her eyes flicked between us, the faintest hint of surprise and something unreadable, a fire that both terrified and thrilled me. I didn’t care what the elders thought. She belonged to no one. Not yet. But in this moment, with our blood mingled, she was ours, both of ours, and the world might just have to accept it.

"How could something like this happen?" another elder shouted. "We need to stop it as soon as possible. There must be a mistake somewhere. I'm very sure of it."

"Just accept it and stop being annoying. This is the truth, and none of you can go against it," Gabriel said to them, even though I could see that Carlota was in so much pain.

Is this the double bond pulling her at the same time?